Surreal Magnolias

Today's Wonder of the World is...the Magnolia Tree and It's Sweet Smelling Flower!


Aren't magnolias amazing? We have tons of them around Greenville and Greer, and they're all in bloom right now! The picture above was taken outside my church, while tons of people were walking by and my son was closing his eyes and saying, "Mom, please..."

I've discovered that to make him stop, I just have to turn the camera at him.

Ha. Caught you Sam.
And yes, I let my son wear Crocs to church. Rubber shoes, no socks. I've done worse.
Back to magnolias...
There were so many pretty blossoms

Even when they're a little misshapen they're beautiful.

I love the cones/pods/fruit best. (I'm not sure what you call them so I'll cover all bases.)
To me, they look like a Dr. Seuss character with those crazy curls!

(That's a public flickr shot. Thanks, flickr.)
Can't you see it? Maybe my photo paintbrush can help you see what I'm thinking.
See?

Hey! That was fun! I've discovered a whole new way to procrastinate!
This could be dangerous.

But I will not go off on a Dr. Seuss tangent. Let's stay with magnolias, shall we?
I love their delicate petals. When I was little I used to press my fingernails into them and make little brown arcs, where I had wounded the petals. I sound like an angry child. But I wasn't.

When I worked at a preschool a couple of years ago, the children would collect the pods and the leaves on the playground. They'd turn the waxy green leaves over to their brown leathery sides, and use them for pretend dinner plates. The boys turned the pods into grenades. A few did, anyway.

In the fall, the pods look like victims of a horror movie.

But I think they're beautiful then too. (Thanks again flickr and southernbornandbredgirl!)
What? Did someone say something?
Oh, it's Miss Magnolia Podhead, and she's saying something to you...

"Just don't think about the horror movie thing, my dear. Think of those blood red seeds as fruit, not as my brains oozing out of my head because aliens shot me up with a gamma ray."

Anyway, back to Magnolias (and out of striking distance from my bizarre imagination...I think the heat must be getting to me!)

I'm not the only one inspired by magnolia trees. Look what I found!
Where else? ETSY!
Remember the Etsy post, HERE?

I saw these cute little baby booties at Joujoux's shop. HERE!
Those things are so cute that if somebody out there doesn't buy them up quick, I might just have to buy them myself! And I don't have a baby to put them on!

So hurry! Because my bored nine year old has taken to dressing our dog, and I'm thinking that those shoes might just fit.

Tanner says, "Don't buy the shoes. Those magnolias look yummy!"

Take care friends!
Have a Wonder-full Friday and come on back tomorrow for the Mad Tea Party!
Love, Becky